Common Name
Goblin Shark
Year Described
Jordan, 1898
Identification
Teeth: 35-53 upper; lower 31-62
Body robust and elongated. Snout long and spade-like from above; long, flattened and projecting from the side. Eye moderate. Jaws highly protractile: when closed mouth is flush with body but when opened both jaws are pushed forward dramatically. Moth curved with very obvious teeth. Front teeth thin and long in three rows. Rearmost teeth granular. Five gill slits moderate. Dorsal fins about equal in size. Pectoral fins small and rounded. Pelvic and anal fins far back on body, close together, and larger than both dorsal fins. Caudal fin large with a strong upper lobe and no caudal lobe. Body wall soft and non-muscular.
Color
Body uniformly pinkish-gray as adults with blue-gray fins. Eye black. Juveniles whitish.
Size
Maximum size to potentially over 600cm TL, but largest measured specimens to 411cm TL.
Habitat
Mesopelagic over a wide range of depths (0-1300m). Adults normally found between 270-960m with juveniles in shallower open water. Apparently feeds on shrimp, squid, and fishes.
Range
Known from New England seamounts, the northern Gulf of Mexico, French Guiana, Colombia, and northern/southern Brazil in the region. Captured worldwide in all oceans but rare.
References
Castro, J.I. 2011. The Sharks of North America. Oxford University Press, 640 pp.
Parsons, G. R., Ingram, G. W., & R. Havard. 2002. First record of the goblin shark Mitsukurina owstoni, Jordan (Family Mitsukurinidae) in the Gulf of Mexico. Southeastern Naturalist, 1(2), 189-192.
Rincon, G., Vaske, T., & O.B. Gadig. 2012. Record of the goblin shark Mitsukurina owstoni (Chondrichthyes: Lamniformes: Mitsukurinidae) from the south-western Atlantic. Marine Biodiversity Records, 5.